Resources for Worship, Leadership, and Congregational Health

June 10, 2014

Happy Birthday, United Church of Canada

To celebrate our 89th Anniversary in the midst of the current process of reforming our collective identity, let's change our founding text from John 17:21 to Matthew 28:17. Seriously.

This verse from Matthew is not some incidental, by-the-way, side comment about riff-raff. This verse describes the initial response of the core disciples when they first encounter Jesus now resurrected.

Ought we not lift this up as a paradigm of how communities of faith today might respond to the Good News of resurrection?

AND doubt with curiosity and openness. Doubt with confidence that expects and enjoys uncertainty and ambiguity. Doubt that wonders. Doubt that challenges unexamined opinion and self-righteousness. Doubt that drags us toward truth and confession. Doubt that knows we do not yet fully embody all that God dreams for us to become. Doubt that has the courage to leave the beloved familiar for the desired undetermined future.

Let's Be Like Them

Seriously. Isn't it time to ground ourselves in a new text? So why not ground ourselves in the first responses of the first disciples? Let's be like them. I know I'd like to belong to a community that both worships and doubts.

So let's start a national campaign to have the General Council 2015 adopt a new motto and change our crest:

Et Adoraverunt Quidam Autem Dubitaverunt.Matthew 28:17

(I'm no Latin scholar so this is Google's translation of "They worshiped him, but some doubted." Others who actually know Latin will have to provide the translation that captures the nuances.)

Comments

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Oh David, after they worshipped him and it is said some doubted, the story does not end there, in fact he was carried up into heaven before domes very eyes, and we can also look to the Gospels message of overcoming doubt, nowhere does Jesus teach 'doubt in me and the Kingdom of Heaven'. (keep up your studying and message me if you have any questions),p.s. there was a wise man who spoke of his belief and also asked for help with his unbelief.

27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”(from John 20)

31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”(from Matthew 14)